The national championship game does not kick off until January 7th but that’s ok; a buffet of bowl games begins this Saturday. However, not all bowl games are created equal and in that spirit John Ewing, Director of Research and Analytics, only breaks down the top (in his opinion) ten bowls. Records, trends, stats, and more trends, lets do this.
#1 Notre Dame vs. #2 Alabama, BCS National Championship
How they got here:
Notre Dame – Undefeated regular season, 5-0 in games decided by one score
Alabama – SEC Champion, only loss came to Texas A&M
Bowl Records:
Notre Dame is 15-16 all-time, 2-8 in the last 10 games
Alabama is 33-23-3 all-time, 5-5 in the last 10 games
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Alabama -9, 65% of money bet is coming in on Notre Dame
Betting Trends:
The total has gone under in 10 of Notre Dame’s last 11 games
Alabama is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
#3 Florida vs. #21 Louisville, Sugar Bowl
How they got here:
Florida - Sat out the SEC title game, awarded BCS bowl over Georgia
Louisville – Big East Champion, had to beat Rutgers in final game for crown
Bowl Records:
Florida is 20-19 all-time, 4-1 in last 5 games
Louisville is 7-8-1 all-time, 3-2 in last 5 games
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Florida -14.5, 74% of money bet is coming in on Florida
Betting Trends:
Florida is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Louisville is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
#4 Oregon vs. #5 Kansas State, Fiesta Bowl
How they got here:
Oregon – Pac-12 North runner-up, averaged over 50 points a game
Kansas State – Big 12 champions, beat 5 teams ranked in the top 25
Bowl Records:
Oregon is 10-15 all-time, have made the postseason 8 years in a row
Kansas State is 6-9 all-time, Bill Snyder has coached 13 of KSU’s 15 bowl games
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Oregon -9, 67% of money bet is coming in on Oregon
Betting Trends:
The total has gone over in 4 of Oregon’s last 5 games
The total has gone over in 4 of Kansas State’s last 5 games
#6 Stanford vs. Wisconsin, Rose Bowl
How they got here:
Stanford – Pac-12 Champions, 5-1 against teams ranked in top 20
Wisconsin – Big 10 Champions, **** title with bans on OSU and Penn St.
Bowl Records:
Stanford is 10-12-1 all-time, 1-4 in last 5 games
Wisconsin is 11-12 all-time, Barry Alvarez is 8-3 in bowl games
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Stanford -7, 70% of money bet is coming in on Stanford
Betting Trends:
Stanford is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone over in 5 of Wisconsin’s last 7 games
#7 Georgia vs. #16 Nebraska, Capital One Bowl
How they got here:
Georgia – Lost SEC title game, relegated to second tier bowl game
Nebraska – Big 10 runner-up, blown out in title game 70-31
Bowl Records:
Georgia is 26-18-3 all-time, has made a bowl for the 16th consecutive year
Nebraska is 24-24 all-time, only missed postseason play twice since 1969
Where the money is going:
The game opened at Georgia -10, 85% of money bet is coming in on Georgia
Betting Trends:
The total has gone under in 6 of Georgia’s last 7 games
Nebraska is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games
HALFTIME
Does coaching matter? Of course it does and with anywhere from two weeks to a month a coach will have adequate time to prepare their team for a bowl game. Below is the record for a few coaches in bowl games straight-up and against-the-spread.
Nick Saban, Alabama: 7-6 straight-up, 7-6 ATS
Brian Kelly, Notre Dame: 3-2 straight-up, 1-4 ATS
Les Miles, LSU: 6-4 straight-up, 5-3-2 ATS
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: 7-6 straight-up, 5-8 ATS
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: 8-9 straight-up, 8-9 ATS
Mack Brown, Texas: 12-7 straight-up, 8-11 ATS
Bill Snyder, Kansas State: 6-7 straight-up, 4-9 ATS
Mark Richt, Georgia: 7-4 straight-up, 6-5 ATS
Brady Hoke, Michigan: 2-1 straight-up, 1-1-1 ATS
Mike Riley, Oregon State: 5-1 straight-up, 4-2 ATS
Bonus:
The SEC is favored in all 9 of its bowl games
The largest spread this year is Oklahoma State, -16.5 over Purdue
The largest total is 79.5 in the UCLA/Baylor game
The smallest total is 41 in the Michigan State/TCU game
The SEC and Big 12 each have 9 teams making bowl games
The ACC had the worst win percentage in last years bowl games, going 2-6
16 games feature teams favored by a touchdown or more
Alabama and Notre Dame will each make $18 million for playing in the title game
The smallest payout, $325,000, Famous Idaho Potato bowl
#8 LSU vs. #14 Clemson, Chick-fil-A Bowl
How they got here:
LSU – SEC West runner-up, 3-2 against ranked opponents
Clemson – ACC Atlantic runner-up, 0-2 against ranked opponents
Bowl Records:
LSU is 22-20-1 all-time, has made a bowl every year since 2000, 8-4 in those games
Clemson is 16-18 all-time, 1-5 in last 6 games
Where the money is going:
Game opened at LSU -3.5, 77% of money bet is coming in on LSU
Betting Trends:
LSU is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
The total has gone under in 4 of Clemson’s last 6 games
#9 Texas A&M vs. #11 Oklahoma, Cotton Bowl
How they got here:
Texas A&M – rode Johnny Manziel to first 10-win season since 1998
Oklahoma – lost two games in Norman, first time since 1998
Bowl Records:
Texas A&M is 14-19 all-time, 2-8 in last 10 games
Oklahoma is 27-17-1 all-time; best win percentage of any team listed in this article
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Texas A&M -4.5, 70% of money bet is coming in on Texas A&M
Betting Trends:
The total has gone over in 7 of Texas A&M’s last 10 games when playing Oklahoma
The total has gone over in 4 of Oklahoma’s last 5 games
#10 South Carolina vs. #18 Michigan, Outback Bowl
How they got here:
South Carolina – back-to-back 10-win seasons, only 3rd time in school history
Michigan – lost to both Alabama and Notre Dame, only school to do so this season
Bowl Records:
South Carolina is 5-12 all-time, made 5 consecutive bowl games, school record
Michigan is 20-21 all-time, 4-6 since 2000
Where the money is going:
Game opened at South Carolina -4, 83% of money bet is coming in on South Carolina
Betting Trends:
The total has gone over in 3 of South Carolina’s last 4 games
Michigan is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
#12 Florida State vs. #15 Northern Illinois, Orange Bowl
How they got here:
Florida State – won 11 games but had a bad loss to NC State
Northern Illinois – BCS Buster, lost to a 4-8 Iowa, beat 1-11 Kansas
Bowl Records:
Florida State is 24-14-2 all-time, will be 9th appearance in Orange Bowl
Northern Illinois is 4-3 all-time, first bowl game against an ACC opponent
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Florida State -13.5, 69% of money bet is coming in on Florida State
Betting Trends:
Florida State is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Northern Illinois is 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 games
#13 Oregon State vs. #23 Texas, Alamo Bowl
How they got here:
Oregon State – started 6-0 but went .500 in remaining 6 games
Texas – lost 2 games in a row twice, accomplished that feat in each of the last 3 years
Bowl Records:
Oregon State is 8-5 all-time, first bowl game since 2009
Texas is 26-22-2 all-time, first appearance in Alamo Bowl since 2006
Where the money is going:
Game opened at Oregon State -2, 78% of money bet is coming in on Oregon State
Betting Trends:
The total has gone over in Oregon State’s last 5 games
The total has gone under in 4 of Texas’s last 5 games